1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to air-cleaning devices. In particular, this invention relates to air-cleaning devices that provide air purification using an ionizer and an ion precipitator that are positionable on a surface or supportable by a conventional wall electrical outlet.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
The increase of outdoor air pollution over many years has created a greater awareness for the type of damage that outdoor air pollution can cause to one's health. What is not commonly known, however, is that indoor air pollution also exists and can have a significant effect on one's health. There have been recent Environmental Protection Agency studies that indicate that indoor air pollution levels have the potential to be 2-5 times higher than outdoor air pollution levels. It is estimated by some that, on rare occasions, indoor air pollution levels can be 100 times higher than outdoor air pollution levels. This is an increasingly important matter that must be addressed, as some people spend 90% of their time indoors, especially infants and the elderly. Some of these indoor pollutants may also be contributing factors to frequent and unexplained headaches or sleepless nights that afflict numerous persons within the general population.
There have been numerous prior art devices designed and manufactured for purifying air. With more homes and offices becoming better insulated, an objective of air purifiers is to clear the indoor air of common pollutants, including dust, smoke, pollen, bacteria, soot, mold spores, animal dander and other microscopic irritants, and thereby create a clean, healthy, fresh, and pleasant environment. Some of these apparatuses generate ions by using complicated wire grid arrays or with high voltage electrode arrays. Some use fans for moving air and similar complicated apparatuses. Some of these prior art devices are mounted in large housings that contain fans and other complicated moving parts and filters. Often, they become clogged with pollutants, requiring disassembly of fan assemblies, replacement and/or repair of high-voltage generating sources, extensive clearing of arrays of wires and electrodes that help create air movement, and replacement of filters that clog the apparatuses unless cleaned. These devices are certainly more complicated and perhaps more expensive than what some users may anticipate or desire.
Furthermore, air-cleaning devices were initially used in bathrooms and kitchens and, consequently, have tended to be more functional than attractive. Air-cleaning devices are now used in bedrooms and living rooms, and consumers who wish to use air fresheners in these areas of the home may be reluctant to place an unattractive, functional container in these areas.
For years, ozone has been used to treat and sanitize water supplies, sanitize pools and spas and remove odors in hotels and fire-damaged buildings. More recently ozone generators have been sold as a way to “clean” the air in a home. Ozone is a molecule formed of three atoms of oxygen. As an unstable molecule, ozone readily offers one of the oxygen atoms to other substances it encounters. When ozone encounters another substance, it shares an oxygen atom, chemically altering that substance. The chemical alteration of microorganisms, mold, mildew, fungi, and bacteria generally results in the death of those substances and the elimination of its odor.
However, manufacturers of ozone generators and public health agencies are engaged in debate over the use of ozone in the home. Public health agencies claim that ozone is potentially dangerous to human health and recommend that the generators not be used, as ozone may be a respiratory irritant. The same chemical properties that allow ozone to react with organic material in the air also allow it to react with similar organic material inside the human body, particularly in the respiratory system. While most people can stand limited exposure, symptoms like mouth and throat dryness, coughing, headache, eye irritation, and chest restriction may occur in some individuals at the concentrations produced by residential ozone generators.
Moreover, consumers generally do not want a “one size fits all” air-cleaning device. Consumers prefer an air-cleaning device that can be customized to meet their specific needs. Consequently, to overcome the limitations of air-cleaning devices that are currently available on the market and to address a wide range of consumer needs. Therefore, what is needed is a way of providing an effective air purification device that includes an ozone-reducing mechanism and a way of reconfiguring the device to meet a specific consumer's needs.
Additionally, most prior art air-cleaning devices are designed to be placed directly on a supporting surface, such as a floor, a table or shelf, such that the size of the components of the device was not a cause for design concerns as the devices were designed to have large housings easily supported by these surfaces. However, in many situations it is desirable to have an air-cleaning device with a compact housing that does not take up significant space on a supporting surface, which can then be used for other items. Further, it is even more desirable to have the air cleaner supported by a wall or other vertical surface, such that the air cleaner has no footprint on a horizontal supporting surface, while still providing effective air cleaning to a room in which the air cleaner is located.